Statutes of the International Association of Egyptologists
revision from May 2008

1. Name and Definition

1.1.The name of the Association is "The International Association of Egyptologists" (Association Internationale des Egyptologues, Internationaler Ägyptologen-Verband).

1.2.The Association is a non-profit making organization which unites the efforts of persons, scholars and supporters, willing to work within its frame for the promotion of Egyptology.

2. Aims of the Association

2.1.The Association shall openly discuss problems affecting Egyptological studies, and shall encourage and promote the study of Egyptology in all its aspects on an international basis.

2.2.The Association shall actively support such documentation projects as are of importance to the scientific development of Egyptology and the international collaboration among its professionals, and shall act as an intermediary in providing funding and personnel for such projects.

2.3.The Association shall collect and distribute information concerning new discoveries, scientific work on progress and work completed.

2.4.The Association shall encourage collaboration between scholars and existing professional associations and shall facilitate the application process for fellowships, scholarships, etc. in Egyptology.

2.5.The Association shall support the holding of international congresses of Egyptology (see Annex 1).

2.6.The Association shall promote a wider understanding and appreciation of Egyptology on the part of the general public by establishing contact and maintaining relations with amateur societies and other relevant institutions.

2.7.The Association shall encourage the preservation of the cultural and historic heritage of the ancient inhabitants of the Nile Valley.

3. Membership

3.1.There are four categories of membership of the Association:

3.1.1.Professional Membership, open to all scholars having an advanced degree in Egyptology, or in another scientific field but making significant contributions to Egyptology. Professional members have a vote in the General Assembly and the right to offer papers for presentation at the International Congresses of Egyptology.

3.1.2.Associate Membership, open to non-scholars with a special interest in Egyptology and/or associated with amateur societies, with the exception of anybody involved in the commerce of antiquities. Associate members have no vote in the General Assembly and no right to present papers at the International Congresses of Egyptology.

3.1.3.Student Membership, open to students at recognised educational institutions, following a degree programme in Egyptology. Student members have no vote in the General Assembly but have the right to present papers at the International Congresses of Egyptology.

3.1.4.Honorary Membership for persons who have to an extraordinary extent furthered Egyptology and the aims of the Association. Honorary members have a vote in the General Assembly and the right to present papers at the International Congresses of Egyptology.

3.2.An annual subscription is payable the amount of which is to be decided by the General Assembly for each category of Membership.

3.3.New members to the categories 1, 2 and 3 are admitted to the Association on application to the General Secretariat and on receipt of its written confirmation after approval by the President or whomever he may designate as his proxy. The application form should be authorised by the Council member representing the country of origin (or group of countries) of the applicant. Applicants refused by their representative in the Council may directly appeal to the General Secretary for adjudication.

3.4.Honorary Members are elected by the General Assembly on a proposal by the Council.

3.5.Membership terminates by a written resignation presented not later than the end of October.

3.6.A member shall lose his or her membership by failing to pay the yearly subscription; by combining his or her Egyptological activities with the trade in antiquities; or for other serious reasons relating to the violation of the statutes and the aims of the Association or of Egyptological professional ethics. The dismissal of membership shall be decided upon by the Council, upon the motion of the Presidium.

4. Organization

The organizational bodies of the Association are: the General Assembly, the Council and the Presidium. The duties of the Council and the Presidium are carried out as an unremunerated honorary task.

4.1.The General Assembly.

4.1.1.The General Assembly is the main decision-making body of the Association consisting of all members present at its meeting. It shall convene as a rule every fourth year, preferably in connection with the International Congresses of Egyptology.

4.1.2.The General Assembly is convoked by the President with the consent of the Council or at the request of a third of all members. The convocation, accompanied by a list of agenda and written proposals shall be dispatched to all members at least sixty days in advance.

4.1.3.The General Assembly shall receive the reports and ratify the accounts presented by the Presidium, the Council and the Special Committees and Boards of the Association. It shall discuss all matters of general concern according to the aims of the Association.

4.1.4.The General Assembly fixes the amounts of the annual subscriptions and of other fees.

4.1.5.The General Assembly takes its decisions by a simple majority of votes. Voting ballots are only distributed to Professional and Honorary Members upon identification by their membership card. Absentee ballots shall be admitted on proposals previously communicated to the members of the Association.

4.2.The Council.

4.2.1.To assist the work of the Presidium on an international basis there shall be a Council to which each country or group of countries with a minimum of 10 Professional Members may nominate a representative for the period between the meetings of the General Assembly. No Council member shall serve more than two terms (or eight years at maximum) and there shall always be a proxy. Egypt may nominate three members of the Council and the foreign Egyptological institutes in Cairo may also elect three additional members who are permanent residents in Egypt; Council members of this group may serve for an indefinite period.

4.2.2.The Presidents of the Egyptian and the Sudanese antiquities organizations as well as the President, Vice-President and Secretary of the International Association of Egyptologists are ex officio members of the Council.

4.2.3.The nomination of the Council members and their proxies shall be organized by the national or regional secretariat of each country or group of countries. For countries having no national or regional association of Egyptologists the nomination shall be organized and supervised by the General Secretariat.

4.2.4.Each new Council's term of office shall begin at the meeting of the General Assembly.

4.2.5.Council meetings can be convened whenever the Presidium or at least eight Council members deem fit. The President or his proxy shall act as chairman. The meetings shall be closed to the public. A Council resolution may be per capsulam.

4.2.6.For special purposes the Council shall appoint committees. The chairmen of these committees form a permanent Advisory Board of the Presidium and are responsible for special activities of the Association.

4.3.The Presidium.

4.3.1.The Presidium consists of the President, the Vice-president, and the Secretary of the Association.

4.3.2.The President is the official representative of the Association and shall further the implementation of the aims of the Association as set out in 2.

4.3.3.The Vice-President shall assist the President in his duties and act as his proxy.

4.3.4.The Secretary shall supervise the functioning of the General Secretariat and shall be responsible for the central administration of the Association, including its finances.

4.3.5.The Presidium shall be elected for the period between the meetings of the General Assembly by all voting members of the Association with ballot-papers during a General Assembly. No member of the Presidium shall serve more than two terms (or eight years at maximum).

4.3.6.In case of a vacancy in the Presidium, the remaining members designate a member of the Council to fill the vacant position until the time for the regular elections.

5. Administration

5.Administration. For practical reasons, the clerical and financial administration of the Association is organized on a national base. The duties of the secretariats are specified in Annex 3.

5.1.A General Secretariat is instituted by the Council to undertake the administrative work of the Association in close cooperation with the Presidium and with the Local Secretariats. It is authorized to receive funds and contributions, and to defray expenditure on behalf of the Association. It is responsible to the Council for all
financial matters.

5.2.The members of the Association residing within one country or, if preferable, within a group of countries, shall institute Local Secretariats at their convenience and in accordance with the legal dispositions of the respective countries.

6. Amendments, Dissolution, Finances

6.1.Any amendments of the above statutes or a dissolution of the Association shall require a two-third majority of all members who express their opinion in a secret vote by mail up to a fixed date.

6.2.The procedure to be followed is regulated in Annex 4.

6.3.The Presidium is authorised to comission expenditure according to the aims of the Association up to the amount of EURO 6.500,-. Projects exceeding this limit are to be approved by the Council

Annex 1: International Congresses of Egyptology

1.International Congresses of Egyptology, to be held as a rule with four years’ intervals, shall be organized with the support of the Presidium, the Council, and the Secretariat by the inviting country.

The choice of the site for the Congresses shall be made by the General Assembly on the basis of proposals by inviting countries.

2.The chairman of the Congress committee shall be a member of the Advisory Board until the session of the General Assembly held during the Congress in question.

3.Participation in the Congresses is open to all members who have paid their dues and can show a membership card.

4.Papers may only be read by members of categories 1, 3 and 4, or by speakers specifically invited by the Congress organization; all such papers and will be submitted to peer review before acceptance.

Annex 2: Election of the Presidium

1.Any group of members of the Association, freely constituted or on the basis of professional interests, shall be entitled to present a proposal concerning the composition of the Presidium (President, Vice-President, Secretary) in the following term of office, on the following conditions:

1.1.The proposal should reach the General Secretariat one year before the scheduled meeting of the General Assembly; if no nominations are received on time, the Presidium and Council are responsible for proposing nominations themselves.

1.2.The proposal should have the support of a sufficient number of members attested by the signatures of at least 10 members. The signing of different lists of nomination by the same member is not permitted.

1.3.Candidates for the Presidency will be invited to present a four year plan for the activity and development of the Association. Any such plans submitted will be circulated with the nomination papers, along with a short statement of the candidates’ affiliations and career history.

2.The General Secretariat shall communicate all nominations validly received, plus the various four-year plans from the nominees for the Presidency, with the dispatch of the voting-paper to all members of categories 1 and 4 of the Association, not later than 90 days before the date of the General Assembly.

3.The voting member inscribes the names of the nominees (President, Secretary) he or she supports and returns it in a neutral sealed envelope by mail, to arrive at the General Secretariat no later than one month before the date of the General Assembly.

4.The nominee for Presidency with the greatest number of votes gets the function, the second highest becomes Vice-President. The function of Secretary is a separate nomination.

5.The votes will be counted by three members of the Council before the opening session of the General Assembly, so that the new President can chair the Congress immediately after the communication of the results.

Annex 3: Secretariats

1.The General Secretariat shall be responsible for the central administration of the Association, including its finances, as stated above in 5. It shall keep the list of members up to date. It shall assure the contacts between members and the Association as such. It shall distribute relevant information to the members and when necessary produce information pamphlets and other similar printed publications. The General Secretariat shall coordinate and support the work of the Local Secretariats.

2.The Local Secretariats shall be responsible for the local administrative work and shall especially have as their duties: To see to the recruitment of members; To centralize the collection of members's subscriptions; To assure contacts between members and the General Secretariat; To collect information or news from their areas
for transmission to the General Secretariat; To send out to members of the areas or sectors various documents received from the General Secretariat or the Presidium, in accordance with lists of members furnished by the General Secretariat; To be responsible for the nomination of the Council members and their proxies.

3.The financial report given by the General Secretariat has to be approved by two censors nominated by the Council.

Annex 4: Procedure of secret votes

1.Proposals concerning changes in the articles or the dissolution of the Association shall be addressed to the Presidium at least six months before the usual time of meeting of the General Assembly.

2.Such proposals shall be discussed by the Council and announced in writing to all members of the Association together with the date of the General Assembly, i.e. 90 days before.

3.The General Assembly shall freely discuss such proposals and shall be entitled to make amendments by simple majority of open vote.

4.The proposal in the form accepted by the General Assembly shall be communicated together with the voting-paper by the General Secretariat to all members as soon as possible.

5.The changes in the articles or the dissolution of the Association shall be considered as validly established if it is accepted by a two-third majority of the votes of all members returned to the General Secretariat within 45 days after the dispatch of the voting-papers. The vote shall be controlled by a delegated member of the Council.